Broom-bridle



GQA. McGARR.

BROOM BRIDLE. APPLICATION Fl-LED JUNE 6,19l9- 1,401,342, Patented Dec.27,1921

George flmcafi By UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BBOOM-BRIDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

Application filed June 6, 1919. Serial No. 302,174.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonon A. MoGAnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Broom- Bridles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in broom bridles, and has for its object to provide an exceedingly simple and effective device of this description,

which may be readily attached to a broom during the course of the manufacture of the same, or attached thereto after the broom is completed.

A further object of my invention is to so bridle a broom that the straws thereof will have a limited movement under spring)pressure so as to avoid the fracturing or making of the straws at the point of contact of the bridle therewith; and

A still further object of my invention is to so construct and arrange the bridle and the attaching element thereof that said bridle will have a limited swinging movement to adapt itself to the swaying of the straws of the broom when in use.

With these end in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, and then specifically designated by the claim.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a broom, having a bridle made in accordance with my improvement applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the blank from which the attaching member of the bridle is produced.

Fig. 3 is a section of a portion of the broom showing one form of my improved bridle attaching member secured on (the broom.

Fig. 4 i a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a blank of slightly modified form, intended for producing an attaching member which may be readily secured to the broom after the same has been manufactured.

Fig. 5 is an edge elevation of the attaching IIr rembZr made from the blank shown in ig. 6 is a section of a portion of a broom showing the attaching member illustrated in Fig. 5 secured to the broom by forcing the pron s thereof into the straw.

Fig. 7 1s a detail view showing a portion of the bridle members engaged with the attaching member.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied, 1 represents an attaching member, which is made from a rectangular blank. with teeth formed alon the two end edges thereof, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, this blank having an elongated hole 2. The completed attaching member formed from this blank has the inset legs 3 and the outset teeth 4, that is to say the blank is so bent a to produce these legs from a portion thereof, the legs standing at an obtuse angle from the bod and the teeth being bent out ward from t e legs at approximately right an les.

W0 0f the attaching members as thus described are embedded in the straws of the broom during the process of manufacture of said broom, and therefore become a permanent part thereof.

My invention contemplates two bridle members, each consisting of the 100p 5 adapted to surround a portion of the broom below the stitching 6 of said broom, and these bridle members have two arms 7 which extend upward on each side of the broom, terminating in the hooks 8 adapted to engage with the attaching members one on each side of the broom by passing through {Jhe elongated holes in said attaching memers.

The arms 7 are so formed as to produce the offset curve 9 in which the ends of the coil spring 10 rest, said ends being bent around said ofi'set curve as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The above described construction and ar rangement gives the bridle a free swinging movement within certain limitations to follow the movements of the broom straw when the broom is in use, but at all times maintains a spring pressure upon the straw so as to facilitate the sweeping operation of the broom.

In practice the spring 10 on each side of the broom is so coiled and its length is such that it will be partly distended when the bridle is placed upon the broom, thus giving an initial pressure upon the straw, yet permitting a further distention of the spring durin the sweeping operation.

In *igs. 4, 5 and 6, I have shown a slightly modified form of the attaching member in which the legs 11 are elongated and notched so as to form prongs, and these legs are bent out at right angles to the body of the attaching member approximately upon the line of union of said legs and the body as shown in Fig. 5, and the pointed ends of said legs are set at a slightly in ward angle so that when the attaching member is forced into the straw f the ln'oom ter the latter has been manufactured, the legs will be gradually bent inward until reaching the approximate position shown in Fig. 6 thereby firmly locking the attaching member firmly to the broom, the bridle being connected to these attaching members in the same manner as above, described.

l/Vhile I have shown and described my invention as adapted for use upon brooms, it it obvious that it is also applicable to brushes.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact shape of the attaching member nor to the exact details of construction of the bridle member, as these maybe varied within the limits ol the appended claim without departin from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my inrention, what I claim as new and useful is:

In a device of the character described, two attaching members each having a slot therein and carrying means for securemcnt to a broom body, one of said members being located on each side of the broom body, two bridle sections spaced apart each consisting oil. a. loop adapted to surround a polt-ion of the broom body, and to straddle one edge thereof. two arms projecting lrom said loop and prov d d with oll sets adjacent said loop, hooks formed from the ends of said arms for engagement with the slots in the attaching members whereby the bridle sections are pi\ 'oted to said attaching members, and springs attached to the ollset portion of the bridle sections and lying within the spaces between said bridle sections, one 011 each side of the broom body, for drawing the looped portions 01" said bridle sections toward each other.

In testimony whereoi. I have hereunto al fixed my signature.

GEORGE A. MQGARR. 

